(Ha'aretz) Yuval Yoaz (Jerusalem Post) and Herb Keinon and Margot Dudkevitch - Shin Bet security services chief Avi Dichter told the Cabinet Sunday that a planned terrorist attack against Israeli tourists in the Sinai over the Rosh Hashanah holiday was in all likelihood blocked as a result of an IDF operation in Gaza last week. Dichter said eight Hamas activists from Gaza were apprehended in the Egyptian side of Rafah last week on their way to the Sinai and from there to the Negev to carry out an attack. The arrest of this group, coupled with Israel's successful attack earlier this month that killed 14 Hamas activists training at a soccer field in Gaza, diverted the organization's attention and kept them from carrying out a planned attack in Sinai. Dichter also warned that an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphia Corridor as part of the disengagement plan could bring weapons smuggling from Egypt to previously unseen levels. Prime Minister Sharon said there are signs the Egyptians are doing more against smuggling. However, they have still fallen short of Israel's expectations on the matter, he said.
2004-09-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive